Aaron Carter got face tattoos to make himself ''look tough''.

The 'I Want Candy' hitmaker has a number of tattoos on his face, and has revealed the reason he wanted to get inked in the controversial spot was to act as a ''defence mechanism'', as he believes they make him look stronger than he actually is.

Explaining the reasons behind his face tattoos - which include a depiction of the Greek mythological gorgon Medusa - he said: ''I got tattoos to make me look tough because I was so scrawny as a defence mechanism. The medusa on my face means 'Don't look at me the wrong way or this b***h is going to turn you into stone.' Stop click-baiting me.''

Aaron doesn't worry about not liking his tattoos in the future, because he has the money to ''get them removed'' if he ever changes his mind.

He added: ''You know what, I've always talked about getting face tattoos and honestly I always get tattoos knowing the intention that I can get them removed if I want. They're not permanent like everyone says ... My tattoos, they started off because I was such a little kid, a scrawny little kid. I started getting tattoos all over me to make me look like I'm tough so people wouldn't mess with me. And they stopped.

''This is my body, my life, my choices.''

The 32-year-old singer already regrets one of his face tattoos though, as he has the word ''Melanie'' - the name of his ex-girlfriend Melanie Martinez, who is reportedly pregnant with his first child - inked above his eyebrow.

And when asked about the tattoo, Aaron hit out at his former partner, as he told the 'Hollywood Raw' podcast: ''That says 'mistake,' that's not Melanie. I'm getting blown up every single second right now while I'm on with you guys from her saying please give me another chance. blah blah blah.''